Multiple weaving loom



July 6, 1954 c. KIENER 2,682,894

MULTIPLE wEAvING LOOM Filed July 14, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 l ro ATTOQNE Ks;

July 6, 1954 c. KIENER 2,682,894

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MULTIPLE WEAVING LOOM Filed July 14, 1949 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 C//Q/S 77AN /K/ENEQ KM j/ A TTo/QNE YS July 6, 1954 Filed July 14, 1949 Fig. l5

MULTIPLE WEAVING LOOM #W "fr Fig.l6

C. KIENER 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 an equivalent number oiv single looms,

Patented July 6,1954

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MULTIPLE vWEAVINGr LOOM Christian Kiener, Epinal, France Application July 14, 1949, Serial No. 104,760

Claims priority, application France July 27, 1948 s claims. l

My invention has for its object a Weavingmachine incorporating a large number, say 20, of operative components forming as many elementary weaving units operating'independently and assembled together to form, as a whole,.a com.- pound machine.

The main feature of this machine consists in that the weaving` units are associated side by side and back to back on a common frame, said weaving units as designed for such an assembling operating each independently to make a fabric in a vertical plane, the weft being introduced through the passage of the shuttle over ahorizontal reed that is held. fast during this passage between the two sheets of subdivided vertically arranged warp, the shuttles beingv driven from stationary shuttle boxes.

Preferably the shuttle boxes are arranged two by two on a common support in side by side relationship so as to produce by reason of a corresponding shifting of the reeds and sheets of warp threads, an imbricating or overlapping4 of: the differentweaving units with reference to the two adjacent units between which they are held.

In each separate unit, the reed that is. independent of the shuttle boxes executes a reciproeating rising and sinking movement so as to provide in its lowermost stationary position for the passage of the shuttle and in its upper position for the beating up of the weft against. the fell of the cloth.

n By reason of its novel eatureamy weaving machine shows numerous and considerable advantages. The bulk. the weight and the number of parts of the aggregate are considerably reduced for a machine incorporating a number of weaving units, when compared with the same number of looms arranged singly, the cost of erection is considerably reduced and the cost price of the machine is much lower than that'cf The: cost of. the driving machine for such an arrangement is also greatly reduced as a single electric motor may control all the weaving units forming together the compound weaving machine. The transmission is considerably simplified and the consumption of power reduced. Lubrication is made much easier as a central lubrication system may be used for the system of elementary WeavingunitsA making up the machine and still further it being necessary for him to turn round the'unit.

as in conventional looms. Again the sheets of warp threads being as stated very near one another byreason of the overlapping of the weaving units, the travelvbetween the successive unitsv will be equal to one half of the travel required' heretofore. This will reduce finally the distances travelled over by-the operator to a considerable extent.

The signalling of theV stoppage required by the warp or by the weft or by mechanical mishaps may not only beexecuted in the usual manner on each weaving unit but it may also be provided centrally through electric means and appear on ak single board for all the-units forming thefcompound weaving machine. The centralising signalling boards of four machines may in fact be associated together at one end of said machines so as to allow them to be: inspected by a person positioned at the intersection of two corresponding bays or rows of machines.

The automatic feeding of the weit to each weaving unit may be executed by incorporating to the latter a cop or shuttle changing device of any-known or suitable type.

A further object of the invention consists preciselyy in automatically executing the feeding of the weft for the Wholesystem of say 20 weaving units forming the compound machine. This object is achieved through the arrangement on each side` of the compound machine of an upper conveyor receiving thev full cops or shuttles,A according as to whetherthe replacement of the weit is obtained through a change of cops or through a change ofY shuttles, from a central feeding station located at one end of the compound machine. andlensuring the distributionI to the shuttlev or cop. holders of the weaving units and further a lower conveyor adapted to receive the exhausted copsi or shuttles that are thus collected,

According to a still further feature of: the invention,.the progression oi the` Cops or shuttles on one hand and that of the exhausted cops or shuttles on the other hand is ensured through the upper and lower strand respectively of one common conveyor.

The above-disclosed features and advantages and also further auxiliary features and advantages that have not yet been disclosed will appear clearly from the reading of the following description of a compound weaving machine executed inv accordance with the invention and illustrated diagrammatically by way of a mere exemplincation and by no means in a binding sense in accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating the general arrangement of my compound machine.

Fig. 2 is a corresponding elevational side View.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine.

Fig. 4 is an elevational side view of one of the weaving units together with a partial illustration of the two units between which it is mounted.

Fig. 5 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 4.

Fig. 6 is a partly vertical cross-sectional View of an automatic cop changing arrangement.

Fig. 7 is a corresponding plan View.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views similar to Figs. 6 and 7 respectively relating to an automatic shuttlechanging device.

Fig. l() is an elevational side View of a distributor located at one end of the machine, and adapted to feed full cops on to a conveyor leading to the diierent weaving units on either or both sides of the machine.

Fig. ll is a corresponding plan view.

Fig. 12 is an elevational view of a detail.

Fig. 13 is a general view as seen from above showing the automatic warp feeding means of the systems of weaving units forming the compound machine.

Fig. 14 is a corresponding elevational View.

Fig. 15 is a plan view showing the central signailing system indicating the stoppages of any kind whatever affecting any of the weaving units.

Fig. 16 is a corresponding elevational view.

Fig. 17 is a front view of a central signalling board.

Turning to Figs. 1 and 2 illustrating respectively, in plan view from above and in vertical elevational view, the compound weaving machine, it is apparent that the latter is constituted by the assembling into a compound machine of twenty producing elements that is of twenty elementary weaving units distributed into two groups arranged back to back, shown respectively at A and A1 and including each ten elementary units.

To this purpose, the compound machine includes longitudinal beams, for example, four, one beam l being shown in the drawing, the beams extending throughout the length of the machine respectively in its lower part and its upper part. To these beams are secured end frames 3 and intermediary frames 4, each of the latter supporting diierent members forming part of the four adjacent weaving units, any two successive units arranged on the same side of the machine being provided to either side of the corresponding intermediary frame.

All the weaving units of the machine include means for the vertical upward beaming of the warp 5, il designating the warp beam located at the lower part of the unit and 1 the beam located at the upper part of the loom for the winding of the fabric produced As clearly apparent from Fig. 3, the warp 5 in each weaving unit winds off the beam 6 that 4 is suitably braked through any known means and it then passes over back rail rollers 9 and I0 (Fig. 3) adapted to carry the warp threads and between which the latter are constrained to move horizontally through the warp stop motion dropper Il, the roller I9 which is stationary for weaving certain articles, may be controlled mechanically so that it will rise to relieve warp tension. For that purpose the roller It may be rocked by a cam (not shown) mounted on a driving shaft, another roller (which is also not shown) being mounted on a lever in a manner which is well known. The warp threads pass also through horizontal heddles or" harnesses l2 and i2 adapted to form said shed and then through a substantially horizontal reed I3.

The fabric produced illustrated at 8 that is kept at its proper width by temples i4, is urged upwardly by a roller l5 and is wound over the cloth beam 'i that rises as the length of fabric increases inside the fork-shaped slides I6 secured to the upper end of the frame.

lThe harnesses I2 and l2 carried by horizontal slideways that are not illustrated are controlled through the agency of the levers il and Il ending with rollers submitted to the action of eccentrics I8 and I8 arranged in'diametrically opposed relationship and acting in antagonism with the springs IS and i9.

2t designates the shuttle travelling through the shed over the reed I3 that is slightly sloping towards the inside of the loom so that the shuttle may bear during its progression against a guiding wall 2|, rigid with the reed and lined with velvet. The reed I3 (Fig. 3) of each elementary loom or unit is carried at its ends between the ends of twov rocking slay arms or levers 22 (see also Fig. 5) whose opposite ends oscillate around spindles 23 under the action of cams 213 keyed to the main shaft 25 and which act on rollers 26 carried by said levers 22, the oscillations of which cause the reed I3 to raise so as to beat-up the weft. In Fig. 3, the reed of the elementary unit A on the front side of the machine is illustrated in its raised position, for which the weft is being urged against the fell of the cloth while the reed of the other elementary unit A1 is in its lower stationary position for which the shuttle travels through the shed over said reed i3 that is, as stated, transiently stationary.

The control of the system of elementary units of the compound machine is provided through the upper common shaft 21 driven by an electric motor 21a, that may be located for instance at the end of the machine and transmits through belts :Zt its movement to the individual driving pulleys 29 of the different elementary units.

With a view to reducing the bulk of the machine longitudinally, through a reduction in the spacing between the fabric sheets produced on one side of the compound machine, it is of advantage to associate two by two on a common support and in adjacent relationship the shuttle boxes of any two successive elementary units so as to provide for an overlapping of each unit with reference to the unit lying to either side thereof as readily apparent from inspection of Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5.

Thus for instance, each of the two stationary shuttle boxes 3&-30 of the weaving unit A illustrated in Fig. 5 is carried by the same support as the shuttle box 35d or 30h for the corresponding adjacent weaving units and to the front thereof, each of said supports being secured through its middley to the corresponding intermediary frame 4.

with reference to the reeds |30, and |31)l of the adjacent individual units. This is the reasonA why Fig. 3 shows in addition to the shuttle operating in the shed illustrated as produced by the units A and A1, the shuttle corresponding to the adjacent units.

The throwing of the shuttles is produced in the example illustrated by under-pick motions including as well known a picker stick 3| to the upper end of which is secured a picker A32 adapted to drive the shuttle; at its lower end the picker stick 3| is secured to the shoe 33, the curvilinear lower surface of which bears against the upper horizontal surface of a carrier 34 whereby the picker 32 is adapted to assume a rectilinear path for driving the shuttle. The picking shaft 35 that is driven by the main shaft 25 as shown in Fig. 3, through the agency of the gearwheels 36 and 31 carries a platen 38 (Figs. 3 and 4) provided with a boss or projection 39 (Fig. 3); the latter acts on a roller 46 as shown in Fig. 4, carriedby an arm 4| that acts in its turn through a pivoting linkage 42-43 on a member 44 rigid with the picker stick 3l. The travel of the picker stick required for driving the shuttle isv limited by an abutment 45 secured to the intermediary frame and the length oi which is suflicient for it to cooperate with the picker sticks of the two adjacent units, which picker sticks are shifted in the same manner and by the same amount as the corresponding shuttle boxes. The return of each picker stick into its inoperative position is ensured by a belt 46 submitted to the action of a coil spring 41. It should be noted that there are two coil springs 41 arranged in different vertical planes (the medial plane of the two shuttle boxes), each coil driving a picker stick.

The automatic replacement of the weft is performed in each weaving unit through a change of co-p orv through a change of shuttle.

In the case of a cop-changing device (Figs. 6 and 7) the full cop or weft holder 48 that is held in position by the rocking cop-holding blade 6U, is urged downwardly into the shuttle 49 and drives out of the latter the empty cop 50.' The object of the blade 60 is to prevent the cop or weft holder '48 from falling into the shuttle box. When the cop or weft holder 48 is introduced into the shuttle by means of the piston 5I, the blade 6i) rocks downwardly and reverts toits initial position by means of a springv (not shown). This change of cops is obtained through the downward movement of a piston 5I rigid with two sliding rods 52 guided in the support 53. The rods 52 are connected through astay 54 operatively engaging one arm of a forked lever 55 pivotally secured at 56 and the other arm of which carries a roller 51 controlled by a cam 5B keyed to the shaft 58 that receives its movement from the main shaft 25 and that is actuated when the weft stop motion or the weft feeler provides for a change of cops.

In order to provide for automatic feed, in lieu of thev usual manually operated loading for the separate individual holders of the whole system of weaving units on one. side of the machine, I have provided according to my invention means for feeding full cops to said holders and for removing the ejected exhausted cops.

These means consist. as illustrated,l of two 6 horizontal conveyors 6l and 62 constituting preferably the upper and the lower strand of a common conveyor belt. The full cops 463 laid longitudinally over the conveyor ,6| appear at the upper end of the individual cop-holder 63. Such a cop 433 (Fig. 6) enters the holder only if the blade 54 in the latter has been set in a position 64 asillustrated in dot and dash lines in Fig. '7, that is if it projects above the conveyor in a manner such that it constrains the cops to slide into the upper opening of the holder 63. This position 64' of the deflecting blade 64 is obtained when'a change of cop being called for, the spare cop 482 has entered a position 481 inside the holder by reason of the original cop 481 having replaced itself the cop or weft holder 48 laid into the shuttle. l/Vhen such a cop 482 enters the position 481, it no longer bears against the con-J trolling projection 65 the rocking of which is thus provided by gravity and controls the blades 64.

The exhausted cops 56 are ejected into the channel 66 wherein they are laid on the exhaust conveyor B2 which latter leads them into the collecting receiver |63 located at one end of the machine (Fig; 14).

- Thev conveyor is constituted preferably by an endless belt stretched over two pulleys located each at one end of the machine. One of said pulleys is a driving pulley and receives a movement at a speed suiting the number of cops that are used' for operation per unit of time.

This'conveyor including the strands 6I and 62 is carried by a support 61 secured to the upper portion of the machine frame. The conveyor belt is carried by U-shaped beams 68 and 63 the lateral walls of which form guides for the cops that are being conveyed. At intervals, there are provided rollers fili and 'il fitted in the U-shaped beam for carrying the conveyor strands.

Stays 72 provide for the carrying of the lower 'U-shaped beam 59 in a hanging position, said lower beam being secured .furthermore to the individual ejection channels 66.

Should a change of shuttles be performed instead of a change of cops, the mechanism includes in an lalternative embodiment (Figs. 8 and 9.) a double storied box the front wall 'I3 of which is stationary while the horizontal plates 'I4 and 1,5 nia-y rise and sink simultaneously and are rigid to this purpose with the Vertical sliding rods I6 that are provided each with a stud Tl engaged by a fork 'I8 rockingly supported by the pivot 1.3 and extending beyond said pivot 79 to form an arm; the latter carries a roller 33 controlled by a cam 8l keyed to a shaft 82, the movement of which is controlled in its turn by that of the main shaftf25 and that is actuated when the weft stop motion or the weft feeler provides for a. change of shuttle. The movement of the shaft 82 by the main shaft 25 is identical with the movement` of the shaft 59 by means of the picking shaft35.

The' shuttle 83, the provision of weft thread of which is exhausted, is located on the lower story of the box and the shuttle 241 that is to replace it is located on the upper story and a further spare shuttle 842 rests freely over said shuttle 8.411.

`When a change of shuttle is provided the following operations are produced in succession:

The spare shuttle 842 is held fast against a stationary wall 35 by a buffer 83 that is submitted through the agency of a spring 5l to the thrust ofi atwo-arm lever 83 adapted to rock roundv the 7 pivot 89 and controlled in its turn by a cam 90. The brake 9| for the exhausted shuttle 83 being released through any suitable means that are not illustrated, the two-storied shuttle box sinks so that the full shuttle 841 may come in front of the driving picker to replace the exhausted shuttle 83; the manner in which the two-storied shuttle box derives its sinking motion by means of the sliding rod 18, the stud 11, the fork 18, the roller 823, and the cam 8I has been described hereinabove; the latter lying in the lower story 1.4' is driven out by the ejector 92 constituted by two push members keyed to a horizontal spindle 93 receiving a pivotal movement through the agency of a rod 84 and a lever 95 controlled by the cam 98 through the agency of the roller 91 (Fig. 9). The exhausted shuttle 83 is thus removed.

The throwing of the new shuttle isv performed, after which the two plates 14 and 15 rise. The buffer 8S releases the shuttle 842 that drops into the upper story of the shuttle box. rIhe new shuttle that has been picked returns to the lower story of the shuttle box since the box has been elevated subsequent to picking.

In a manner similar to that already disclosed with reference to the change of cops, the full shuttles may be transf-erred through a conveyor belt 6I and the empty exhausted shuttle may be removed through a conveyor belt 62. For executing the automatic replacement of the spare shuttle 8d2, use a deecting blade 98 carried at the end of one of the arms of a lever 99 pivotally secured at IDU. The end of th-e other arm carries a feeler IGI (Fig. 9) that is normally urged back" by the spare shuttle 8d2 and leaves then the blade 88 in its retracted position, while said feelercarrying end produces on the contrary, under the action of a spring whenever the shuttle 842 has been removed, a pivoting movement of the lever 99 whereby the blade 98 assumes with reference to the conveyor I the position illustrated in dot and dash lines at 98 in Fig. 9, which allows the admission of a shuttle that slides through a channel IEB and arrives into the shuttle box in which it occupies the position 842. The dropping of the exhausted shuttles 83 on to the conveyor 62 providing for their removal is guided through the channel I2.

As concerns the feeding of the conveyor 6I with cops or shuttles, as the case may be, it is performed preferably in an automatic manner by means of an arrangement forming a general holder and distributor and located at one end of the compound loom.

Such an operation is illustrated by way of example in Figs. l0 to 12 for the case where the change of weft is provided through a change of cops.

The cops or weft holders d8 are housed inside a holder Sd constituted by a sloping channel opening above the conveyor EI (Figs. 13 and 14) and the shape of the transversal cross-section oi which is illustrated in interrupted lines in Fig. 11; the ends of the thread of the different cops are tensioned and are secured to a strip IGS carrying said ends, said strip being somewhat similar to a card clothing. Said strip is stretched under the form of an endless band between two rollers I8@ and E81 (Fig. l1) of which one |66 is rigid with a ratchet wheel IB through the agency of which a forward movement is given to the strip vi 85 each time a cop is being distributed.

p In register with the lower open end of the channelshaped holder 184 is provided a blade |09 against 8. which is held the cop arriving in front of the opening in the holder. The blade IUS that may pivot round a spindle IIJ carried in bearings rigid with the support 81 (Figs. 10 `and 1l) carries a roller III raised at the suitable moment by one of the cams IIZ (Fig. 11) secured to the conveyor I. On the spindle I I3 also carried by the support B1 is fitted a hub I for a two-arm rocking lever IIS-IIoL The arm IIa carries a roller II adapted to be raised at a, suitable moment by one of the calms I I2 on the conveyor, so as to constrain the arm II5 to rock downwardly, said arm ending with a catch or tooth II1 adapted to engage the ratchet wheel HI8. The arm IE5 carries furthermore a projection I I8 for controlling at the moment of its rocking the downward movement of the movable arm I IS of scissors adapted to cut the thread at the output end of the cops. Lastly the same arm II5 carries a buffer I2Il submitted to the action of a torsional spring IZI and adapted to exert a pressure on the cut end of the thread passing out of the cop that is being delivered by the conveyor 5 I, whereby said end of the thread engages a reed-shaped member V22 secured to said conveyor and constituted by a fragment of card clothing.

Considering for instance the cam I |21 (Fig. 11), its passage under the roller HI of the blade IS will produce a rising movement of the latter and consequently constrain a cop 48 or weft holder to drop into the position i581 as a consequence of the transient receding movement of said blade H39. The 'same cam H21 passes then underneath the roller H5 of the rocking lever IIa and produces on one hand the engagement of the weft thread with the card clothing reed 22 and on the other hand the cutting of the thread by the thread-cutting scissors II9 and furthermore it operates an angular rotation of the ratchet Hi8 through the catch II1 so as to make the strip H25 carrying the thread ends advance by the desired amount.

A similar arrangement may be provided for distributing the shuttles on the conveyor in the case of a shuttle changing device being used.

As for the centralised signalling provided through the compound machine according to my invention and that is illustrated in Figs. l5, 16 and 17, it is apparent that, in addition to the usual arrangements 23 mounted in each elementary unit and indicating the stoppages aris ing through the warp or through the weft or through mechanical mishaps, it is possible to provide at the end of each weaving machine a centralising board IM on which are signalled the diiierent mishaps arising in the elementary units on either side of the machine Each arrangement I23 is a device consisting of signa-l lamps of diiferent colors, corresponding to the stoppages. For instance, a red lamp is preferably provided for stoppages occurring when the warp is broken, a green lamp for stoppages occurring when the weft is broken, a White lamp for other stoppages, for example, when a shuttle does not properly enter its box or remains in the shed. On panel IE6! (Fig. 17), the same colors for each weaving units are shown as on the respective separate arrangements 23. For instance, the three reference numbers i on one of the halfpanels correspond, respectively, to small windcws provided with red, green, and ordinary glasses and the lights behind said windows are lighted at the same time as the respective lights of arrangement I of the corresponding Weaving units. In Fig. 17, the digits 1, 2l 10 correspond each to one of the units and the three identcal members recorded on the board |26 for the unit considered appear for instance in gates cut in the board and provided with glasses of different colors, according to the nature of the mishap that is signalled and that produces the illumination of the corresponding gate. On panel |24 (Fig, 17), the same colors for each weaving unit are shown as on the respective separate arrangement |23. For instance, the three reference numbers l on one of the halfpanels correspond respectively to small windows, provided with red, green, and ordinary glasses and the lights behind said windows are lighted at the sa-me time as the respective lights of arrangement |23 of the corresponding weaving unit. A watchman positioned at |25 may thus inspect four double panels |24 corresponding in the case illustrated to eighty weaving units forming four compound weaving machines.

It should be remarked that the centralised design of a compound machine allows associating therewith a centralised automatic lubricating system constituted by an arrangement similar to those used on automobile vehicles.

Obviously, my invention is by no means limited to the embodiments disclosed hereinabove and many modifications or detail improvements may be imagined and equivalent means may be used for those described without unduly widening thereby the scope of the invention as defined in accompanying claims. For instance, the elementary weaving units may be of the type wherein the weft is fed continuously through large stationary spools and weft inserters.

What I claim is:

1. In a weaving machine having a plurality of independent elementary weaving units, a main frame comprising at least two longitudinal beams extended along the whole length of the machine, a plurality of transverse frames secured to said longitudinal beams, each frame being adapted to support four elementary weaving units arranged in two couples back vto back, the units of each said 10 couple being respectively secured on each side of said transverse frame.

2. A weaving machine comprising two series of aligned elementary weaving units arranged side by side, the elementary units in the two series being arranged back to back, each unit including a vertically reciprocating horizontal reed, stationary shuttle-boxes, means adapted to throw a shuttle between the shuttle-boxes over said horizontal reed when in its lowermost position, means for feeding the warp to form a shed to either side of the reed and means for raising periodically the reed after each pick insertion, and a frame to which the different elementary weaving units are rigidly secured, the corresponding stationary shuttle boxes on the adjacent elementary weaving units being secured to said frame, and the shuttle boxes of the odd units in each series being laterally shifted with reference to those of the even numbered elementary weaving units for producing an overlapping between the warp sheets of the successive elementary units.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein each transverse frame carries four shuttle boxes, the two outside boxes being arranged to be used for the two weaving units on one side of the transverse frame, the two inner boxes being arranged to be used for the two weaving units on the other side of said frame, the reeds of the weaving units on one side of said frame being transversely shifted with respect to the reeds of the units mounted on the other side of said frame.

References Cited in the iile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 371,569 Field Oct. 18, 1887 605,600 Emery June 14, 1898 794,701 Cobb July 11, 19-05 998,808 Steere July 25, 1911 1,857,837 Blackman May 10, 1932 2,140,893 Brooks Dec. 20, 1938 

